John Olsen: Goya’s Dog
The National Art School is proud to present John Olsen: Goya’s Dog, a powerful exploration of an extraordinary Australian artist – from his creative awakening in Spain, through the darkness that threatened to overwhelm him at times, and his ability to reach for the light, pursuing a long and acclaimed career.
John Olsen is one of the National Art School’s most renowned graduates, a NAS Fellow, AO and OBE. Goya’s Dog features over 50 major works, sketchbooks and drawings, many not seen in public for generations.
The exhibition begins in Spain during the mid-1950s when the young artist became entranced and inspired by Spanish culture – art, poetry and music – which drew him to explore a darker, more vulnerable side of his personality and experience. Another visit to Spain in the mid-1960s transformed his palette, which became more dynamic and bold.
“It was a remarkable experience because Spain was completely isolated from the modishness of the 20th century, it was still the essential heart of Europe. And then as I began to study, I became aware that even though Spain is a bright and sunny country, that its principle painting lay on the basis of tone – Velazquez, Goya, Murrillo – and somehow those earthy tones reverberated the soul of Spain.
“It was very profound … rather than thinking outwards, it made you think inwards. Still in Australia today, they like the sunny side of the world, whereas the Spanish like the shadow side of the world. I found that very intriguing.” John Olsen, February 2021
The exhibition also features Olsen’s work from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, a period when his vital urban Australian ‘larrikin’ voice emerged. The Olsen landscape became like a theatre or stage, where human drama takes place. It is vivacious, teeming with metaphysical life; in parallel with and embracing real life.
Known for the irrepressible vitality in his work and his buoyant personality, Olsen is a visual poet with a deep love of poetry underpinning his work. Yet he has also confronted darkness in his life, reflected in works such as Donde voy? Self-portrait in moments of doubt (1989). This powerfully introspective painting fits within a venerable history of western art, one which looks mortality in the face.
“I’m 93, and I’m more entranced with the dark side. Not in a mournful sense, but in a sense of enquiry.” John Olsen
Olsen has followed his lifelong urge to set sail into the unknown, delving into the landscape that takes on the form of a living being, full of emotions, foibles and beauty. Through the storms, struggles and soul-searching, he lands on moments of enlightenment, where he is able to capture the energy and elemental life forces of nature, and what it is to be human within this world.
“What I’m talking about is the artist as hunter gatherer. Being daring, and not frightened of the outcome. You’re a journeyman, in the real sense. It’s not the question of failure, it’s the question of understanding and feeling, where you’re able to inhabit your interior world.” John Olsen
EXHIBITION DATES: Friday 29 October – Saturday 27 November 2021
EXHIBITION LOCATION: NAS Gallery
OPENING HOURS: Monday–Saturday, 11am–5pm
CURATOR: Steven Alderton based on a concept by William Wright AM
Explore the exhibition
Images: John Olsen: Goya’s Dog installation view, 2021. Photos: Peter Morgan
Hear from the artist
Education Resources
The John Olsen: Goya’s Dog resource been written in line with the Years 7–10 Visual arts Syllabus and the Higher School Certificate Visual arts Syllabus, as a guide to exploring the exhibition or as a pre/post-visit resource. Tertiary students and the general public may also find the resource useful.
Teachers will be able to use this resource in conjunction with the works in the exhibition to engage in a critical and historical study of the art world and to investigate artists, artworks, worlds, and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.
Use the exhibition walkthrough video (top of page) to explore the artworks.
Introducing Dominic Terlizzi and Osvaldo Budet, speakers at Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
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Moderated by Joe Frost, Dominic and Osvaldo will discuss transformations and voids found in objects and history through expanded drawing approaches.
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Dominic Terlizzi is a Brooklyn based artist whose studio work includes drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation. He utilises objects and textures to build imagery. Dominic recently exhibited at Craig Krull Gallery and Helen J Gallery in LA, My Pet Ram, Tappeto Volante, Field of Play, The Front, Good Naked, Underdonk, and Headstone Gallery in New York. International exhibitions include McBride Contemporian in Montreal, and NEVVEN Gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Osvaldo Budet is a Puerto Rican artist and graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art, where he completed his Master of Fine Arts in painting. He currently lectures in drawing at the National Art School, Sydney and is represented by Cassandra Bird, Sydney. His work explores the physical and political dimensions of colonization and post-colonization, as a reflection of the culture and the interests of the systems we inhabit.
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Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
Saturday 12 April 2025
Facture – The manner in which something is made
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Learn more about the speakers and symposium at the link in bio.
Mar 25
Facture – the manner in which something is made
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Join us Saturday 12 April for the 2025 Drawing Symposium at the National Art School, presented by the National Centre for Drawing. Featuring a diverse range of national and international speakers, as well as associated performances and exhibitions, this event is held in conjunction with the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize. The symposium will explore the theme of Facture, a concept that emphasises an artwork’s tangible reality as an intentionally crafted object, linking the act of creation directly to its physical presence. Considering an artwork in terms of its facture reveals it as a record of the artist’s decisions, methods, and materials. Discussions will examine how this concept enriches our understanding of drawing and aligns with contemporary and interdisciplinary approaches to art-making.
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Learn more and buy tickets at the link in bio.
Mar 19
Opening night and winner announcement: 24th Dobell Drawing Prize
Join us on Thursday 10 April for the opening night of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, Australia’s leading prize for drawing, and an unparalleled celebration of technique, innovation and expanded practice. The winner will be announced at 6:30pm.
Presented at the National Art School in partnership with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, this biennial exhibition continues to highlight the enduring relevance and changing role of drawing within contemporary art practice. The winning work enters the National Art School’s significant collection, built over the past 120 years.
This 24th edition is curated by Lucy Latella and showcases the work of 56 finalists, selected from 965 nationwide entries by judging panel Vernon Ah Kee, Dr Yolunda Hickman and Paula Latos-Valier AM.
RSVP at the link in bio.
Mar 13
Our academic year kicked off with Drawing Week, a program of drawing intensive workshops for our 2nd and 3rd year BFA students.
At the @sydneyoperahouse workshop, led by Drawing Lecturer Tango Conway, students were invited to experiment and expand their practice in an environment rarely open to the public.
Learn more about the BFA program at the link in bio.
Mar 9
The National Art School was proud to launch our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and First Peoples Centre Darani Ngalawada last night.
The RAP articulates our commitment to strengthening relationships between Australia’s First Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, acknowledging the truth and ongoing impact of colonisation, while cultivating a positive future together through education.
NAS always was, always will be on unceded Gadigal Land.
To read our RAP, visit nas.edu.au.
Mar 7
